Are You Willing to Be Weird for Jesus?

“Well-fortified cities have broad walls, and so did Jerusalem in her glory days. The New Jerusalem must, similarly, be surrounded and preserved by a broad wall of nonconformity to the world and separation from its patterns and ideas.” – C.H. Spurgeon

I love 2 Peter 2:9. It reads as follows: “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light.”

That wording comes from the NIV, the New International Version, but other translations use an even more descriptive phrasing. Take for instance the Aramaic Bible, which translates “God’s special possession” as “a redeemed assembly.” The Douay-Rheims Bible uses “a purchased people” whereas both the Literal Standard Version and Young’s Literal Translation use “a people acquired.”

Clearly, God wants us to know that – because of the price that Jesus paid on the cross – we belong to Him… lock, stock, and barrel.

And then there is the King James Version and the Websters Bible Translation, both of which utilize the term “a peculiar people.” That wording conveys two very important truths: first, that we belong wholly (and holy) to God and second, He expects us to act like it.

No more blending into the world’s scenery because we don’t like being singled out, mocked, or even persecuted for our faith (I John 2:15-16). That’s the kind of cheap and lukewarm faith that Jesus said makes Him nauseous (Rev. 3:15-16). Instead, we are to live our lives in such a way that the unsaved world can easily identify us by our Christlike actions before we utter a single word (Matt. 5:14-16).

We started today with a quote from the “Prince of Preachers,” so let’s end the same way…

“There is a tendency today to break down this holy barrier and make the distinction between the Church and the world merely nominal. Believers are no longer fixed on godliness, questionable literature is widely read, frivolous pastimes are eagerly indulged, and a general laxity threatens to deprive the Lord's special people of those sacred distinctives that separate them from sinners. It will be a bad day for the Church and the world when the proposed amalgamation is complete, and the sons of God and the daughters of men shall be united, and another deluge of wrath is ushered in. Beloved reader, make it your aim in heart, in word, in dress, in action to maintain the broad wall, remembering that the friendship of this world is enmity against God.”

“Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven.” Matthew 10:32-33 (NKJV)

- Rev. Dale M. Glading, President